Who are the likely nominees for Nobel peace prize 2017?

The Nobel Peace Prize has been won by some of history's most famous and iconic figures like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Barack Obama. The award is one of five - including Chemistry, Literature, Physics and Medicine - set up by Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel.

According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded to the person who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

Nobel, who died in 1896, never said why he chose peace as a category, but it is believed he was trying to compensate for his arms manufacture past.

The Nobel laureate receives a diploma, a medal, and about $1.5 million.

The winner will be announced in Oslo, Norway, on Friday, October 6, 2017.

A bookmaking giant has made Pope Francis the favourite to land the Nobel Peace Prize.

Betting firm William Hill has declared the elderly pontiff as the frontrunner for the coveted prize.

The head of the Roman Catholic church is ahead of Syrian rescue group the White Helmets, who are offered at 5/2 odds, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel who is a 4/1 shot.

“You can make a solid case for the front three in the betting, the biggest bet is on Angela Merkel with Pope Francis attracting the most individual bets,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.

One of the favourites in the running is Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, nicknamed "the man who mends women" for his treatment of survivors of sexual violence.

The bookmakers also astonishingly have placed NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in seventh place at 20/1.

US President Donald Trump and election-bothering autocrat Vladimir Putin are outsiders at 66/1 and 100/1 respectively.

As the North Korean crisis threatens to boil over, this year's prize could honour efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, according to experts.